Compared to Android, the Samsung Z is said to “[deliver] a fast, optimal performance with improved memory management” and “offers a faster startup time and immediate multi-tasking capabilities.”

“Samsung is committed to enhancing the mobile experience of consumers with innovation that is both personal and unique to their needs,” continued DJ Lee, Samsung’s Marketing chief. “The Samsung Z integrates the power and adaptability of the Tizen platform, enabling users to browse the web faster and utilize applications more effectively.”

The Samsung Z will first be made available in Russia starting in Q3 of this year, and will late expand to other markets around the world. There is no word yet on U.S. availability.

I guess with Google gaining more and more power in its own right, Samsung is finding their steering influence with Google falling off as time moves on.

While Tizen is not specifically built by Samsung (it is after all a fork of Intel/Nokia's MeeGo), at least one Samsung top executive co-chairs the Tizen steering committee and has a huge amount of say in what is going into the new mobile OS. They are also providing some of their top architects into that open source project to ensure they get their concerns in on the ground floor.

I expect to see Tizen show up on a majority of the Samsung mobile product lineup in the not too distant future.

If you really think about, if it was something in Android that needed licensing, Microsoft would have asked the money straight from Google. But since it went after manufacturers instead, I believe the licensed part is not actually in Android, but rather something manufacturer themselves add to the devices.

It's a lot more than "just a bonus". The data mining that Google is doing these days with everything from your email to your web searches is downright creepy. Folks get their panties in a bunch over NSA collecting metadata... Google is collecting actual data and nobody bats an eye. Ever read Google's privacy policies? Scary stuff.

Aside from Android though, iOS is the only other mobile platform with a vibrant ecosystem. BlackBerry is a has-been, and Microsoft is joke. A new alternative like Tizen would be most welcome IMO, even more so since Tizen is open source.

quote: Folks get their panties in a bunch over NSA collecting metadata... Google is collecting actual data and nobody bats an eye.

What the NSA is doing is hella illegal and yeah, we get our "panties in a wad" when the Government starts assuming everyone in the country is a terrorist. I don't know about you, but that's a little more scary than someone delivering ads that I can opt out of.

Legally or otherwise, the NSA digs through data that others harvest. Facebook, Google, Microsoft, et al. So yeah, you should be concerned with what Google collects from you. Google might just be using it for ads, but the NSA wants to know all about you damned "domestic terrorists", and the Google cloud is a good place to start looking.

"I expect to see Tizen show up on a majority of the Samsung mobile product lineup in the not too distant future"

I would highly doubt that. They just signed a 10 year pact with Google re: Android. Tizen will have to be better than Android and have apps before people start using it in large #'s. I hope it gets there, but that is a LONG way off.

Right now we have a mid range device releasing in Russia later this year. I would bet its years before we see a single high end device on it much less replacing the lineup. It may replace some of the extremely low end devices though.

quote: While Tizen is not specifically built by Samsung (it is after all a fork of Intel/Nokia's MeeGo)

No it isn't - Intel left their Meego project to join the Tizen project but Tizen is not built on Meego, it is built on the Samsung Linux Platform.

I was thinking I'm surprised that Samsung haven't taken a similar approach to Amazon with the Kindle and produced a device without the GMS that they can use their own software with but then as I was typing it I seem to recall that Google won't allow you do to that if you want to produce Android phones with the full Google suite?

You recall correctly. You can't do it piecemeal. The way Google has GMS licensing set up, you either take it all or leave it all - including access to things like Google Play and essential (up-to-date) APIs.

It's a LOT of work to fork the most current Android, more so than it was when Amazon got started. In fact Amazon's limited success in doing so accelerated Google's plans to reign in on all these open source adventures.

Basically, the support that Samsung gets from others (like Intel) working on Tizen makes it the better choice over attempting to build a GMS-free Android fork. If Tizen does well I can see Amazon expressing interest.